Friday, January 10

BUSINESS

Questioned By Journalism Academics – News Corp’s Deal With Google And The Melbourne Business School
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BUSINESS, EDUCATION

Questioned By Journalism Academics – News Corp’s Deal With Google And The Melbourne Business School

News Corp Australia and Google have announced the creation of the Digital News Academy in partnership with the Melbourne Business School at the University of Melbourne. It will provide digital skills training for News Corp journalists and other media outlets. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? The academy won’t provide full degrees, just certificates and a chance to upgrade digital skills in a fast-changing media environment. Many companies in various industries have partnered with universities to deliver what used to be in-house training programs. Strengthening the links between industry and the academy has been welcomed in many sectors and certainly encouraged by governments for many years. Why then are we as journalism academics concerned? There are several reasons. The first and...
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Journalism Integrity – New Forms Of Advertising Raise Questions
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BUSINESS, IN OTHER NEWS

Journalism Integrity – New Forms Of Advertising Raise Questions

Mainstream news media outlets have, in recent years, begun to create advertisements that look like news articles on their websites and on social media. My research raises questions about whether this modern form of advertising might influence those outlets’ real journalism. These specific advertisements are called “native advertising,” but are also tagged as “sponsored content,” “partner post” or other labels consumers don’t understand. They look like news articles, with headlines, photos with captions and polished text. But really they are ads created by, or on behalf of, a paying advertiser. With declining revenue from traditional display advertising and classified ads, news outlets are increasingly relying on native advertising – a sector in which U.S. spending was expected to reach $...
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In First 4 States To Do So Legalizing Recreational Pot May Have Spurred Economic Activity
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BUSINESS

In First 4 States To Do So Legalizing Recreational Pot May Have Spurred Economic Activity

Banking activity in the first four U.S. states to make recreational marijuana legal grew significantly more than in other parts of the country despite federal laws that prohibit financial companies from any involvement with cannabis, according to our new study. This isn’t to suggest that banks illicitly benefited from the burgeoning pot business by taking deposits from cannabis companies or giving them loans. Our data doesn’t back that up – and those practices remain illegal under federal law. Rather, we believe our findings suggest legalization may have spurred more economic activity generally. Using data from regulatory filings, we compared the deposits and loans of banks in the first four legalizing states – Colorado, Washington, Alaska and Oregon – with those in every other state. We...
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The Why’s, The Do’s, The Don’ts – TikTok For Recruiting?
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BUSINESS, IN OTHER NEWS

The Why’s, The Do’s, The Don’ts – TikTok For Recruiting?

Okay, after hearing about all of the TikTok recruiting buzz, I thought it was finally time to take a deep dive into it. I am not a TikTok user, so I thought for the purpose of this blog, I must download the app! Upon login, I was immediately blasted with a video. It took a moment to orient myself as random videos flashed on my screen, but soon after I was swiftly navigating around the app. I checked out trending hashtags and videos, then unexpectedly, I found myself laughing aloud! From men doing dramatic jumps off of ledges for pizza rolls waiting for them at home, to a woman recording a video about the co-worker you are annoyed with during Zoom® meetings, I was easily (and quickly) entertained. I then decided to get serious, and search for "career advice", since that was a recent hashta...
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Essential Reads: Facebook Became Meta – The Company’s Dangerous Behavior Came Into Sharp Focus In 2021
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BUSINESS

Essential Reads: Facebook Became Meta – The Company’s Dangerous Behavior Came Into Sharp Focus In 2021

Meta, née Facebook, had a rough year in 2021, in public opinion if not financially. Revelations from whistleblower Frances Haugen, first detailed in a Wall Street Journal investigative series and then presented in congressional testimony, show that the company was aware of the harm it was causing. Growing concerns about misinformation, emotional manipulation and psychological harm came to a head this year when Haugen released internal company documents showing that the company’s own research confirmed the societal and individual harm its Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp platforms cause. The Conversation gathered four articles from our archives that delve into research that explains Meta’s problematic behavior. 1. Addicted to engagement At the root of Meta’s harmfulness is its set of algo...
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An Economist Explains What Is The Fed Taper And How The Federal Reserve Withdraws Stimulus From The Economy
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BUSINESS

An Economist Explains What Is The Fed Taper And How The Federal Reserve Withdraws Stimulus From The Economy

What is the Fed taper? An economist explains how the Federal Reserve withdraws stimulus from the economy. Tapering refers to the Federal Reserve policy of unwinding the massive purchases of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities it’s been making to shore up the economy during the pandemic. The unconventional monetary policy of buying assets is commonly known as quantitative easing. The Fed first adopted this policy during the 2008 financial crisis. Normally, when a central bank wants to reduce the cost of borrowing for companies and consumers, it lowers its target short-term interest rate. But with its target rate at zero during the 2008 crisis – at the same time that there was no inflation and the economy was still hurting – the Fed was no longer able to cut rates further. And so...
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Cellphones Might Be A Safety Risk – Cellphone Bans In The Workplace Are Legal And More Common Among Blue-Collar Jobs
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BUSINESS

Cellphones Might Be A Safety Risk – Cellphone Bans In The Workplace Are Legal And More Common Among Blue-Collar Jobs

Cellphone bans in the workplace are legal and more common among blue-collar jobs – they also might be a safety risk. Cellphones in the workplace can be a distraction – but they could also save your life. In the aftermath of a devastating tornado ripping through an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois, on Dec. 10, 2021 – killing six employees – the online retailer is reportedly reviewing its policy over mobile phone bans during working hours. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, it was common for Amazon to require its employees to leave phones at home or in vehicles before setting foot on the factory floor. The policy was relaxed during the pandemic but was due to be reintroduced in January. Amazon has indicated that a ban was not in effect at the factory at the time the tornado hit, ...
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Even As A Record Number Quit Them – A Vast Majority Of American Workers Like Their Jobs
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BUSINESS, IN OTHER NEWS

Even As A Record Number Quit Them – A Vast Majority Of American Workers Like Their Jobs

A record share of American workers are quitting their jobs, thanks in part to a strong economy and a labor shortage. Does that mean Americans are unhappy with where they work? The answer would seem to be yes, according to many economists and other observers. That’s the narrative driving the Great Resignation, in which workers are simply fed up with their current jobs and demanding something better. Survey data I’ve been collecting during the pandemic, along with social survey results from previous years, however, suggests this is far from the whole story. Rather than being motivated simply by dissatisfaction, it appears many of them are simply taking advantage of a strong economy to look around, while for others, the pandemic has prompted them to consider their options. Are you satisf...
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If They See It Being Virtually Touched – Consumers Value A Product Viewed Online More
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BUSINESS

If They See It Being Virtually Touched – Consumers Value A Product Viewed Online More

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea Consumers who see a product on sale being virtually touched are more engaged and willing to pay more than if the item is displayed on its own, according to a recent research paper I co-authored. Behavioral economists have previously shown that people value objects more highly if they own them, a concept known as “the endowment effect.” Marketers have found that this feeling of ownership can occur even when a consumer merely touches something in a store. With Americans buying a record amount of stuff online, I wondered whether virtual touch also influences how consumers perceive and value products. To find out, I teamed up with marketing researchers Joann Peck, William Hedgcock and Yixiang Xu and performed a ...
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A Trend That Began Before The Pandemic The ‘Great Resignation’ – And Bosses Need To Get Used To It
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BUSINESS, WORK

A Trend That Began Before The Pandemic The ‘Great Resignation’ – And Bosses Need To Get Used To It

Ian O. Williamson, University of California, Irvine Finding good employees has always been a challenge - but these days it’s harder than ever. And it is unlikely to improve anytime soon. The so-called quit rate – the share of workers who voluntarily leave their jobs – hit a new record of 3% in September 2021, according to the latest data available from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. The rate was highest in the leisure and hospitality sector, where 6.4% of workers quit their jobs in September. In all, 20.2 million workers left their employers from May through September. Companies are feeling the effects. In August 2021, a survey found that 73% of 380 employers in North America were having difficulty attracting employees – three times the share that said so the previous year. And 70%...
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